CLEVELAND (AP)  The family of a 12-year-old boy fatally shot by a Cleveland officer is denouncing violence against police.

Attorney Walter Madison said Tuesday the family of Tamir Rice equally rejects violence against police as they reject police brutality.

Tamir was carrying an airsoft gun that shoots nonlethal plastic pellets when a rookie officer shot him Nov. 22 in a Cleveland playground. A grand jury will consider charges.

Madison said in a phone interview that demonstrators peacefully protesting for justice can join the family’s effort, while those with “mercenary motives” are not welcome or supported.

Madison’s comments come after two New York City officers were killed Saturday by a man who said it was in retaliation for the killings of Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.